At three in the morning, the night was quiet, and the European-style guest room was brightly lit. The floor was covered with a thick wool rug.

Pei Yanchu was kneeling on the carpet, his upper body straight, hands placed behind his back as instructed by Wen Qi. His legs were slightly apart, and the deep gray trousers were stretched tight across his strong thighs.

“So…” Pei Yanchu thought for a moment, “You had a nightmare about me and you’re angry at me?”

Wen Qi sat sideways on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, giving a light hum in response. He had a cold expression, his long black lashes like butterfly wings falling down. The corners of his eyes were tinged with a faint pink, his nose sharp and straight, lips full and beautiful, pressed into a thin line. His face was strikingly beautiful like spring peach blossoms, yet his expression was distant, his presence like snow—extremely contrasting, making one feel disoriented.

Wen Qi had gotten out of bed, wearing a thin silk pajama. The V-neck exposed a snow-white, straight collarbone, his waist slender, and his round hips were half-pressed against the bed’s edge. His long legs were crossed and dangling, with his toes white enough to be dazzling.

Wen Qi gritted his teeth, “You woke me up, and you don’t get to sleep now.”

His words were unreasonable, but Pei Yanchu smiled. “Okay, I’ll keep you company.”

Wen Qi frowned. “Keep me company?”

Pei Yanchu quickly corrected himself. “I’ll make amends. I’ll kneel as long as you need to calm down.”

He appeared to accept it without resistance, making Wen Qi feel like he was punching a pillow, growing even more annoyed.

“Pei Yanchu, when I tell you to kneel, you kneel, don’t you have any pride?”

Pei Yanchu sighed. “If I don’t kneel, you’ll definitely be mad. Now I’m kneeling as you said, why are you still mad?”

—How hard was he to placate?

The words were on Pei Yanchu’s lips but he swallowed them back. He tried negotiating. “Xiao Qi, can you just tell me what I need to do for you to calm down?”

“I don’t know.” Wen Qi was frustrated, “Just stay kneeling for now.”

Pei Yanchu obediently stopped talking, but his gaze kept drifting downward.

Wen Qi sat on the edge of the bed. Due to his sitting posture, the legs of his pajama pants rode up a little, revealing a delicate, slender ankle, and beneath it, a bare foot. The foot was delicate and thin, like a piece of translucent sheep-fat jade, exquisitely crafted, glowing with soft, warm light under the illumination. His toes were round and white like seashells, with a faint pink hue. He hadn’t bothered to put on slippers, instead, he placed his foot directly on Pei Yanchu’s knee, resting on the deep gray pants, which made his skin appear even paler, creating a strong visual contrast.

The touch was soft and warm, making Pei Yanchu’s Adam’s apple involuntarily move. Before something could change, he forcibly shifted his gaze away.

Pei Yanchu remained obediently kneeling, and Wen Qi’s pent-up anger had subsided a little. He applied a bit of pressure, stepping on Pei Yanchu’s knee, and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Pei Yanchu, completely unprepared, was stepped on by him, as if startled by something. His body trembled before quickly returning to its usual composed state. His eyes half-lidded, he softly murmured, “I wasn’t thinking of anything.”

A flush of red spread up his neck, and his breath seemed to grow somewhat hurried. He had just pretended that nothing had happened, but now, kneeling like this, he must still feel humiliated, right? Wen Qi was somewhat satisfied and then said, “Lift your head, look at me.”

Pei Yanchu slowly raised his head and gazed at him. Wen Qi smiled faintly and asked, “With me treating you like this, would you want to leave?”

“No,” Pei Yanchu replied. “You saw at the hospital, I couldn’t even pay for my hospital bills. A few friends messaged me asking about the accident, and when I tried borrowing money from them, they stopped replying. Apart from you taking me in, I have nowhere else to go.”

He knelt on the carpet, looking up at Wen Qi with a submissive and respectful posture, his tone full of pleading: “As long as you take me in, you can do anything you want to me.”

Wen Qi was pleased and let out a soft laugh through his nose. Pei Yanchu, would you really have to bow your head one day?

The autumn night was cool, but not cold enough to warrant turning on the air conditioning or heating. Wen Qi, dressed in a thin nightgown, had already begun to feel the chill.

Wen Qi, who was sensitive to the cold, extended his snow-white toes, pulling open the corner of Pei Yanchu’s hoodie. His jade-like, cold feet directly stepped onto Pei Yanchu’s abdominal muscles.

The moment they made contact, Wen Qi could clearly feel the body below tightening like a taut string, the solid line of abdominal muscles obvious.

Pei Yanchu’s narrow waist arched up sharply, his palms clenched into fists behind his back, his face flushed red, his breathing growing heavy.

Wen Qi’s voice was lazy: “Straighten your back, kneel properly. When I brought you back, weren’t you the one who insisted on kneeling? Now kneel as much as you want.”

Pei Yanchu closed his eyes briefly, as if enduring some ultimate humiliation, his expression restrained. Inch by inch, his slender waist and abdomen straightened again.

“Pei Yanchu,” Wen Qi said with interest, “You’d better really have lost your memory.” He leaned slightly forward, extending his finger to pinch Pei Yanchu’s chin, his gaze mocking, his tone filled with amusement. “I lied to you about something—before, we weren’t just unfamiliar, our relationship was actually quite bad. Now that you’re in my hands, guess what? Will I take revenge on you, one by one?”

Pei Yanchu’s expression remained calm as he asked, “If I recover my memory, would you not take revenge on me?”

“Yes,” Wen Qi replied, “But I would take revenge even more ruthlessly.”

Pei Yanchu smiled lightly and asked, “What do you want me to do now?”

Wen Qi replied, “Just stay kneeling like that. When you’ve warmed my feet enough, then you can get up.”

He had a weak constitution and, during autumn and winter, his hands and feet were cold. Even after half the night, he still couldn’t warm up. In contrast, Pei Yanchu, after being kicked off the bed for so long, felt like a little furnace, constantly radiating intense heat.

Since that was the case, let him serve as a foot warmer first.

Pei Yanchu remained silent for a moment before reaching out and holding his foot.

Wen Qi instinctively tried to pull away and asked, “What are you doing?”

His delicate, white feet were firmly held in Pei Yanchu’s large, warm hands, unable to escape in the slightest.

“I’m warming your feet,” Pei Yanchu replied seriously, without any sign of shame from the humiliation. “Your nightgown is too thin. Aren’t you cold? Should I cover you with the blanket so you don’t catch a cold?”

Wen Qi furrowed his brows.

Pei Yanchu’s hands were indeed warmer than his body, tightly wrapping around his feet, so hot that even the tips of his toes were warm.

Wen Qi didn’t say anything, leaning back against the headboard, reaching out to pull the blanket over himself, covering his body, but not forgetting to supervise: “Continue.”

Pei Yanchu let out a soft hum, his palm pressing against Wen Qi’s foot, properly and without any extra movements, diligently fulfilling his duty of warming his feet.

In the quiet, Wen Qi gradually relaxed. He had woken up in the middle of the night, come over to vent his frustration, expending all his energy. Now, with everything easing, he finally started feeling a bit tired, and drowsiness crept back in. Wen Qi’s thick long lashes fluttered like delicate butterfly wings, gently flickering. But then, unable to fight the intense sleepiness, he closed his eyes completely.

In his half-conscious state, Wen Qi seemed to sense someone approaching. His waist was pulled into an embrace, his body lifted, and then he was laid down into the soft, cloud-like bed. A familiar voice, tinged with a light smile, whispered in his ear: “You’re much better when you’re asleep…”

Wen Qi wanted to open his eyes and see who was speaking, but sleep, like a surging tide, swept over him, dragging him down into the dark depths.

Outside, the night was still, the silver moon shifting, the light gradually brightening as dawn’s early light replaced it. Wen Qi groggily woke up, feeling his hands and feet warm. It felt as if he were lying on a grassy lawn in early spring, the warm golden sunlight pouring down, heating every inch of his body, banishing the cold that had settled in his bones, leaving him languid and relaxed.

Wen Qi slowly opened his eyes. His blurred vision slowly focused, and Pei Yanchu’s sleeping, handsome face entered his sight. With a thud, his heart raced wildly, and Wen Qi was fully awake.

Pei Yanchu’s chest was bare and hot, his arms like octopus tentacles tightly wrapped around him, with long, lean arms draped around his narrow waist, filled with possessiveness. His solid legs crossed mercilessly over Wen Qi’s legs. The bodies pressed together, sharing almost identical warmth.

It was too close.

That was the only thought that crossed Wen Qi’s mind. His thoughts were muddled, as if frozen in place, unable to process how this situation had come to be. His whole body stiffened, leaning against Pei Yanchu’s wide chest, feeling the rhythmic beat of his heart from below.

Thump. Thump, thump.

The steady, powerful presence was impossible to ignore.

Pei Yanchu was sleeping deeply, holding him. His slightly lowered head and hot breath, steady and rhythmic, blew against Wen Qi’s ear and neck, sending a wave of tingling sensations.

Wen Qi’s scalp tingled, glancing around—still in the guest bedroom. He took a deep breath, slowly pulling his arm back from holding Pei Yanchu, trying to free himself from this intensely heated embrace. But Pei Yanchu’s body felt like a burning, heavy rock, impossible to move. It seemed as if his resistance only made him tighten his grip around his waist even more.

Wen Qi, sweating slightly on his forehead, still couldn’t free himself. It was like a traveler tangled in water plants—the more he struggled, the tighter it became. He gave up on the idea of returning to his room before Pei Yanchu woke and pushed at the man in front of him, speaking harshly:

“Pei Yanchu!”

Pei Yanchu, seemingly still half-asleep, nuzzled his face into his neck, his voice hoarse and full of sleepiness:

“It’s still early… Xiao Qi, let’s sleep a little longer…”

His straight nose brushed against sensitive skin, and his scorching breath mixed with his slurred words, a tender caress.

Wen Qi’s mind went blank, the heat rushing to his face. He couldn’t take it anymore and finally lost control—”Slap!”

Five minutes later, Pei Yanchu, with a bright red handprint on one side of his face, was kneeling respectfully on the bed.

Wen Qi asked coldly, “Are you awake?”

Pei Yanchu nodded sincerely. “Awake.”

His upper body was exposed to the air, and Wen Qi couldn’t help but ask, “Where are your clothes?”

Pei Yanchu explained, “When you kept putting your hand under my clothes while we were sleeping, I took them off to make it easier for you to touch me.”

Wen Qi clenched his fist. “Say that again?”

Pei Yanchu immediately corrected himself: “It was my fault. I was too hot, and I took them off halfway through my sleep.”

Wen Qi’s temples throbbed, and he barely managed to calm down. He asked, “Why did you sleep with me?”

Pei Yanchu replied, “You only said to help you warm your feet, you didn’t say we couldn’t sleep together. It was so late yesterday…”

He looked innocent. “I thought you wanted to. Last night, while we were sleeping, you even actively crawled into my arms.”

Wen Qi stared at him, wanting to curse, his chest rising and falling a few times before he finally growled, “Shut up. Don’t mention this again.”

“Alright, I won’t mention it,” Pei Yanchu replied, then tentatively asked, “Are you calm now? Should I continue kneeling?”

Wen Qi gritted his teeth and said, “Get up, go cook for Yuanbao.”

The whole morning, Pei Yanchu was kept busy by Wen Qi, running around without a moment’s rest.

Breakfast had to be made, the floor had to be cleaned, coffee couldn’t be too hot or too cold—it had to be poured and re-brewed. Every item in the dryer had to be folded neatly before being put away in the closet.

By the time it was time for Wen Qi to take Yuanbao out for a walk, Pei Yanchu, alone in the apartment, was assigned the task of cleaning the windows and had no time to relax.

When Wen Qi returned home with the little dog, the whole apartment looked brand new, shining everywhere.

Pei Yanchu was wearing a pink strawberry apron, with the sleeves of his sweatshirt rolled up, showing off his strong, tanned forearms. He held a rag and spoke in a tone that seemed to ask for praise:

“I’ve cleaned the windows and wiped the tables and cabinets. Xiao Qi, see if there’s anything else I can do.”

Wen Qi asked, “When did we get this apron?”

“The apron in the kitchen was worn by your former male nanny. I didn’t want to wear it, and since I needed to buy glass cleaner, I also bought a new one on X group.” Pei Yanchu explained.

“I used a coupon, it was 52.9 in total, and you don’t need to worry about the change. Just send me 52 yuan as a red envelope.”

Wen Qi opened his phone’s WeChat interface, tapped to send the red envelope, but paused as he looked up at Pei Yanchu.

Pei Yanchu had a pure expression, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Qi added the change back into the amount, then calmly said, “No need to round down. Whatever it is, reimburse the full amount.”

Pei Yanchu sighed in disappointment, “Alright. I was thinking, since we slept together last night and our relationship has gotten closer, I could give you a little discount…”

“Who’s relationship has gotten closer with you?” Wen Qi furrowed his brows, not wanting to bring up last night, and awkwardly changed the subject.

“Let’s go out for lunch, and in the afternoon, I’ll take you shopping. Don’t use my shower gel anymore; it doesn’t suit you at all. Pick out a new one yourself.”

The grapefruit-scented shower gel had a faint, sweet fragrance, but on Pei Yanchu, it always had a strange, mismatched feel, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Really?” Pei Yanchu pulled up the collar of his sweatshirt and sniffed himself, surprised. “It smells the same as on you, and I think it smells pretty good.”

Wen Qi looked at him without expression.

“Change it!”

Pei Yanchu immediately agreed. “If you point east, I won’t dare to go west!”

Wen Qi sneered. “Is that so? I think you’re quite daring.”

Pei Yanchu’s expression was as obedient as the little dog sitting nearby.

“How could that be? Of course, I listen to you.”

Wen Qi pursed his lips and suddenly asked, “Does your knee… hurt?”

He hadn’t known how long Pei Yanchu had been kneeling last night, and even with a carpet, after such a long time…

Pei Yanchu froze for a moment, then let out a muffled laugh and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be getting back at me? Why are you still worried about whether I’ll be in pain?”

“Who cares about you?” Wen Qi’s ears turned red. “I’m worried you’ll get hurt and there’ll be no one to do the housework.”

Pei Yanchu kept laughing, barely managing to stop before Wen Qi got upset again. He said, “It hurts. Next time I make a mistake, punish me by warming your bed for you.”